The LANDac Conference 2018 looked at land governance through the lens of mobility. Land acquisitions trigger migration and yield other types of mobility such as capital, goods and ideas. Ensuing land claims raise new questions for land governance. So far, the discussion has focused on respecting land rights, informing local residents and offering fair compensation. The conference explored the question: Given the variety of mobility, what are good ways forward in land governance?

Successive governments in India have emphasized the need for industrial expansion and privatization as the foundation for economic stability and growth. This focus has led to the policy-induced transformation of rural and peri-urban landscapes into use for industry and infrastructure. These transformations have caused social conflicts and ecological impacts for land and resource-dependent people.

Land is often a critical aspect of conflict: it may be a root cause or trigger conflicts or may become an issue as the conflict progresses. Conflicts lead to forced evictions; the people who are displaced by conflict need somewhere to live and some land to farm or to graze their animals, often leading to further disputes over the use of land and other resources.

Since the 1960s, and particularly in the last decade, Southeast Asia has been attracting significant foreign investments. Myanmar, despite its land titling and registration tangles, is no exception. Investors all across the globe are vying for a piece of the “Golden Land” and the country is responding with equal fervor. The building of a modern industrialized nation through agricultural development is one of the country's economic objectives. Foreign investments are being encouraged, private businesses are being pushed, and attractive tax and duty rebates are being offered.

Since the 1960s, and particularly in the last decade, Southeast Asia has been attracting significant foreign investments. Myanmar, despite its land titling and registration tangles, is no exception. Investors all across the globe are vying for a piece of the “Golden Land” and the country is responding with equal fervor. The building of a modern industrialized nation through agricultural development is one of the country's economic objectives. Foreign investments are being encouraged, private businesses are being pushed, and attractive tax and duty rebates are being offered.

Over the last 50 years, most Asian countries have gone through a shift from subsistence agricultural systems to industrialized economies. In Indonesia, the major shift came in 1966, when General Suharto successfully staged a military coup. Under his presidency, Indonesia experienced the “New Order”. A key aspect of this regime was trade and industrial expansion. Changes were made to foreign and domestic investment laws to facilitate growth, including the removal of most controls on private investments.

This bulletin highlights the breadth of DFID's current portfolio on land and prompts important questions about DFID’s work on land governance in the years to come.

The Land Portal Foundation, Landesa and the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) co-facilitated a discussion on Liberia’s Land Rights Bill between July 18 and August 8, 2018. The discussion took place in collaboration with the Rights & Rice Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and the Land Rights Now campaign. 

The full dialogue can be read here.

GODAN Action supports data users, producers and intermediaries to effectively engage with open data and maximise its potential for impact in the agriculture and nutrition sectors. In particular, we work to strengthen capacity, to promote common standards and best practice, and to improve how we measure impact.

GODAN Action supports data users, producers and intermediaries to effectively engage with open data and maximise its potential for impact in the agriculture and nutrition sectors. In particular, we work to strengthen capacity, to promote common standards and best practice, and to improve how we measure impact.

The webinar on the Land Reform Agenda for Kenya took place on 10 October, 2018. The webinar reviewed the land reform process in Kenya and addressed a range of challenges, with a view to defining a path forward that will lead to equity and justice in land reforms.

The webinar addressed the following questions: 

This report reviews the idea of inclusiveness in agricultural investments and analyses what ‘inclusiveness’ means to different value chain actors.